Minn. building new state park near Ely

Construction is under way at Minnesota's newest state park, Lake Vermillion State Park near Ely.

The Department of Natural Resources is calling Lake Vermillion a "next generation" state park. It will include features like children's treehouses and an "adventure trail" with a ropes course, designed to introduce more young families to the outdoors.

Park Manager Jim Essig says the new park, combined with the adjacent Soudan Underground Mine State Park, preserves 10 miles of shoreline on Lake Vermillion.

"It's almost that Boundary Waters kind of a feel," Essig says. "A lot of rock outcrops, really up and down terrain, a fabulous wetland complex that kind of divides the properties."

Essig expects construction of a 70-site campground and day use area to be complete next summer.

The state bought the 3,000-acre property in 2010 for $18 million from U.S. Steel. Officials committed another $10 million to develop the park.

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